The job of managing England (and dealing with the press) might be a daunting prospect for some but it's nothing compared to ski-jumping according to Sven-Göran Eriksson.

The England manager gave a curious insight into his childhood in Sweden at a press conference before his side's 4-0 friendly win against Paraguay as he revealed to journalists that he had once been a keen, but basically not very good, ski-jumper.

"I did it from when I was about eight until 15, I guess," Eriksson said. "But I was not very good. I was not brave enough to be a very good ski jumper - you need to be extremely brave when you see the snow coming at you but it was great fun."

Eriksson's comments will revive memories of one of England's greatest sporting heroes, Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards - a former plasterer with no previous experience of ski-jumping who represented England in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Eriksson 'the Eagle' managed a personal best of 244 feet - 12 more than Edwards, achieved at the Winter Olympics of 1988 while finishing last in both the 70 and 90 metre events.

A similarly dismal England performance at the World Cup could teach Eriksson a thing or two about fear. "This is a risky job too," he admitted.

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